Photography by theonlydeadheadinthehameau

As most happy snappers will know, the word ‘photography’ is derived from the two Greek words for ‘light’ and ‘drawing’, so Frank has set us a particularly interesting challenge this week, with his theme of ‘Dark’.

No photographic image can be completely dark, of course – otherwise it would just be a black rectangle on the page or screen. But it is the contrast and juxtaposition between light and dark that make for an interesting image, and if there’s one subject that offers infinite variety in the interplay between light and dark, then it must be fireworks.

This was taken on New Year’s Eve in Sydney a while ago. With a hand-held one second exposure it was never going to be pin-sharp, but the blur of the palm trees illuminated by the fireworks adds to the overall impact, I believe.

In the gap betwen two high-rise buildings in central Sydney, here we see the New Year’s Eve firework display (with the added bonus of reflections in the plate glass). This was a 0.5 second exposure, but I think the resultant slight blur makes the light from the fireworks even more dramatic than it actually was.